Work rest for a centerless grinder



Aug. 4, 1959 R. s. PYNE ET AL WORK REST FOR A CENTERLESS GRINDER 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 28. 1956 INVENTORS 065)? 5: PY/VE ALBERT/imMPK/ALS' u BY @uzw w? ATTORNEYS 4, 1959 R. s. PYNE ET AL 2,897,636

WORK REST FOR A CENTERLESS GRINDER Filed Nov. 28. 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2F/G. I

go 55 g fiz 7 18 F/G. 6 j 0 /Z if g Z2 INVENTORS ROGER s. PY/VE ALBERTlf. TOMPK/NS BY WORK REST FOR A CENTERLESS GRINDER Roger S. Pyne,Longmeadow, and Albert H. Tompkins,

East Longmeadow, Mass, assignors, by mesne assignments, to Van NormanIndustries, Inc., Springfield, Mass., a corporation of MassachusettsApplication November 28, 1956, Serial No. 624,920

2 Claims. (Cl. 51-103) This invention relates to improvements in acenterless grinder and, more specifically, to an improved work rest fora centerless grinding machine.

It is the general object of the invention to provide a work rest uponwhich a work support blade can easily be mounted and which isparticularly adapted to be adjusted toward and away from the grindingwheel or the associated regulating Wheel in the usual manner and whichis also adapted to provide swivel adjustment of the work support bladewhereby to adjust the angular disposition of the work-engaging surfaceof said blade.

Other, more specific objects as well as advantages of the invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the specificationwherein a presently preferred embodiment is described with reference tothe attached drawings. However, it should be understood that thedescription of the preferred embodiment of the invention is not to betaken as limiting or defining the scope of the invention, the claimsforming a part of this specification being relied upon for that purpose.

Of the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a centerles grinding machine whichincorporates a work rest provided in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is an end view of the work rest showing portions of a grindingwheel and regulating or control wheel and also showing a fragment of thework rest slide, the grinding wheel, regulating wheel and slidecomprising conventional elements of a centerless grinder;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the work rest, a portion thereof beingshown in vertical section to illustrate a detail, the elevation beingtaken as viewed from the right in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the lower or base member of the work rest;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the upper adjustable member of the work rest;

Fig. 6 is a plan view showing the upper and lower members of the workrest assembled;

. Fig. 7 is an end view generally similar to Fig. 2 but showing theupper member of the rest pivoted in a clockwise direction; and

Fig. 8 is similar to Fig. 7 but showing the upper member of the workrest and the work supporting blade pivvoted in a counterclockwisedirection.

In centerless grinding machines which include a rotatable grinding wheeland a rotatable regulating wheel, a work rest is generally mounted onthe bed of the machine between the grinding and regulating wheels tosupport the work in engagement with the said wheels in what is commonlyreferred to as the grinding throat. In most centerless grinders, theregulating wheel assembly is adapted to slide on the machine bed so asto move the regulating Wheel toward and away from the grinding wheel ina plane which is transverse of the machine to accommodate work ofdifferent sizes and to grind work .to selected diameters. Somecenterless grinding machines proi '4, 1956, shows but one exampleof acenterlessgrinder" 7 2,897,636 Patented Aug. 4, 1959 "ice vide forsimilar rectilinear adjustment or movement of the grinding wheel. It isalso a common practice to mount the Work rest on a slide movable alongthe bed on suitable ways or the like, and means are generally providedfor selectively securing the work rest slide to the regulating Wheelslide whereby the work rest can be moved rectilinearly along the bedwith the regulating wheel assembly when it is desired to do so.

In most work rest constructions, means are provided for detachablysecuring a work supporting blade thereto, the blade being disposedgenerally vertically between the grinding wheel and the regulating wheelwith its upper generally horizontal edge supporting the work inengagement with the regulating wheel and the grinding wheel.

As the work is being ground, it is rotated by the regulating wheel on agenerally horizontal axis which substantially coincides with thelongitudinal center line of the work unless the work is substantiallyout of round. While the upper, generally horizontal edge of the blademay be fiat so as to present a substantially horizontal surface inengagement with the work, in most constructions the said upper edge ofthe work support blade is inclined or tapered so as to present awork-engaging surface which is angularly related to the horizontal. Thetaper at the top edge of the blade provides an angle with the horizontalwhich opens toward the regulating Wheel whereby the work will tend toclimb the inclined surface toward the grinding wheel when the regulatingwheel is advanced toward the work rest and toward the grinding wheel.

Some work support blades are provided with a shallow V-shaped top edge,the work engaging only one of the inclined surfaces when the regulatingWheel advances the work into engagement with the grinding wheel.

Experience in the art of centerless grinding has shown that mostworkpieces should not be supported so as to rotate on an axis or centerline in a common plane or line with the axis or centers of the grindingwheel and the regulating wheel. It is the most common practice tosupport the work so that its axis or center of rotation will be disposedabove the common plane or line of the axes or centers of rotation of theregulating wheel and grinding wheel. The best rounding is achieved byplacing the workpiece well above the wheel centers on a blade having asteep angle of inclination. However, the steeper the angle, the greaterthe wedging between work blade and regulating wheel and the greater thelikelihood of thrusting the work upwardly out of contact. In general,steep angle blades can be used for light cuts and shallow angle bladesare used for heavy cuts. Thus, it is desirable to provide angleadjustment for work support blades to adapt a centerless grinder forvarious workpieces.

A work rest constructed in accordance with the present inventionprovides for adjustment of the angle of inclination of the blade surfacewhich engages and supports the Work, without requiring replacement ormodification of the blade.

' In Fig. 1 there is shown a typical application for a work rest 10constructed in accordance with this invention to support work such asthe workpiece W for engagement by a grinding wheel 12 and a regulatingwheel 14. In accordance with conventional practice, the work rest It) issecured to a slide 16 for rectilinear adjustment on the bed 17 of themachine as indicated by the direction arrow A whereby to advance thework rest toward or away from the grinding wheel 12. It is believed tobe unnecessary to show the machine bed or theregulating wheel assemblyor the grinding wheel assembly in any detail because such elements arecommon to centerless grinder construction. Our pending US. patentapplication Serial No. 582,704, filed May which includes a work restadapted to be adjusted rectilinearly on the bed. As more fully shown anddescribed in that application, the work rest slide can beselectivelysecured to a regulating wheel slide 19 whereby to move thework rest with the regulating wheel toward or away from the grindingwlheel. It will be understood that similar arrangements can be made forthe work rest now being described.

Adjustment of a conventional work rest rectilinearly as indicated by thearrow A toward or away from the grinding wheel 12 and relative to theregulating wheel 14 is generally effected to accommodate workpieces ofdifferent diameter. That is, the work rest is moved toward the grindingwheel 12 to accommodate workpieces of small diameter and it can be movedaway from the grinding wheel for workpieces of greater diameter. Withthe work rest provided in accordance with the present invention,rectilinear adjustment as indicated by the arrow A is effected not onlyto accommodate workpieces of different diameter but similar rectilinearadjustment is coordinated to angular adjustment of a work support blade18 as will be described.

As previously mentioned, the work rest of this invention provides foradjustment of the angle of inclination of the top surface of the workblade. The work rest 10 is adapted to the foregoing purposes byproviding a base member 20 as a support for a pivotally adjustable topmember 22 which is detachably secured thereto and which can be securedin adjusted position.

The base member 20 is of elongated generally rectangular form andextends generally longitudinally of the machine or generally normal tothe transverseplane of relative movement between the grinding wheel andthe regulating wheel. The said base member has an inclined side 24 and avertical side 26, but the vertical side is joined by another inclinedlongitudinally extending surface 28 adjacent the top of the base member.The top surface 31 of the base member 20 is curved, preferably concave,the arc of the surface being transverse and the surface being concavealong the entire length of the base member except for one fiat endportion 32 which provides a platform for attaching work rest accessoriessuch as an end stop or the like. The concave upper surface provides acradle or bearing surface for pivotally supporting the upper member 22of the work rest, said upper member being secured to the base member 20by screws or tie down bolts extending into the longitudinally spacedtapped holes 34, 34. The said screws can be extended through the basemember to secure the work rest to the slide 16 or other work restsecuring means can be, employed if desired.

The upper member 22 is also elongated and has a curved lower surface 35,convex in the embodiment shown, which is complementary to the topsurface of the base member 20 and is seated thereon for swivel orpivotal movement of the upper member relative to the base member. Thesides 36 and 38 of the upper member are inclined similarly to theinclined surfaces 24 and 23, respectively, of the base member so thatthe aforesaid inclined surfaces will reside in a common plane when theupper member is located on the base member in such a position that thework support blade 18 resides in a substantially vertical plane. Anelongated slot 40 is provided longitudinally of the upper member 22 inits upper surface to receive the work-supporting blade 18. The blade 18is detachably secured within the slot 40 by two or more set screws 42,42 which are spaced apart longitudinally of the member 22 and extendtransversely thereof.

The blade 18 can be provided in any conventional form, that shown beingmerely exemplary. It is desirable in the construction of work blades toprovide a hardened steel insert 44 at the top edge thereof forengagement with the work W. The top surface 46 of the insert or of theblade may be at a right angle to the sides of the blade but, preferably,it is shown.

As best shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the upper member 22 can be pivotedtransversely on the base member 20, the complementary curved surfaces 30and 35 providing a bearing engagement between the two members. The uppermember is secured in pivoted position relative to the base member bymeans of a pair of screws 48, 48 which extend into the tapped holes 34,34 in the base member. The screws 48, 48 are located adjaccnt the endsof the top member 22 and extend through transverse slots 50, 50 therein.The end portions of the top member are preferably recessed as indicatedat 52, 52 and a collar 54 is provided for each screw 48 to sit in thecurved recess 52 over the slot 50 to provide a flat base for the head ofthe screw.

The pivotal adjustment of the upper member 22 relative to the basemember 20 can be in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction as viewedfrom an end thereof and as illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8. Such pivotalinclined as adjustment or movement of the top member effects similaradjustment of the work-supporting blade 18 whereby to change the angleof inclination of the top surface of the support blade relative to thework W. When the blade and top member of the work rest are pivotedclockwise as shown in Fig. 7, the inclination of the top surface 46 isrelatively steep, while counterclockwise pivotal adjustment of the bladeand top member 22 as shown in Fig. 8 reduces the inclination of the topsurface 46. It will be apparent that the work rest should be adjustedrectilinearly, by movement of the slide 16 on the bed 17, to accommodateangular adjustment of the blade. That is, the rest should be moved awayfrom the grinding wheel when the blade is pivoted toward it, and viceversa, so that a desired spacing between work blade and grinding wheelcan be effected.

Accordingly, a work rest constructed in accordance with the presentinvention permits of the usual rectilinear adjustment, but in additionthereto, the work rest of this invention can be pivotally adjusted toadjust the relative angular dispostion of the Work-engaging surface ofthe work-supporting blade.

The invention claimed is:

1. A centerless grinding machine comprising a grinding wheel and aregulating wheel which are movable relatively toward and away from eachother in a transverse plane, a rest for supporting work in the machineincluding an elongated base member extending generally normal to thesaid plane and between the grinding wheel and the regulating wheel, thesaid base member having a transversely curved top surface providing aswivel seat, an elongated upper member having a bottom surfacecomplementary to the aforesaid surface and seated thereon whereby theupper member can be pivoted clockwise and counterclockwise on the basemember as viewed from an end thereof, means for securing the uppermember to the base member in pivoted positions thereon, and awork-supporting blade secured to the upper member to extendlongitudinally thereof and to project upwardly between the said grindingand regulating wheels for engagement with a workpiece.

2. A centerless grinding machine comprising a grinding wheel and aregulating wheel which are movable relatively toward and away from eachother in a transverse plane, a rest for supporting work in the machineincluding an elongated base member extending generally normal to thesaid plane and between the grinding wheel and the regulating wheel, thesaid base member having a top surface which is transversely concave andwhich provides a swivel seat, an elongated upper member having a convexbottom surface complementary to the aforesaid concave surface and seatedthereon whereby the upper member can be pivoted clockwise andcounterclockwise on the base member as viewed from an end .5 thereof,said upper member being provided with recessed end portions havingtransverse slots extending therethrough, screw means extending throughsaid slots and threaded into said base member for detachably securingthe upper member to the base member in selected pivoted positions, and awork-supporting blade secured to the upper member to extendlongitudinally thereof and to project upwardly between the said grindingand regulating Wheels for engagement with a workpiece.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSSwanson Dec. 28, 1920 Hopkins Mar. 18, 1947 Riley Apr. 5, 1949 FOREIGNPATENTS Great Britain Sept. 29, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICECERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No: 2,897,636 August 4, 1959 Roger SoPyneet a1 It is hereby certified that error appears in the printedspecification of the above numbered patent requiring correction and thatthe said Letters Patent should readas corrected below.

Column 4, line 60, and column 5, line 8, before "between", eachoccurrence, insert therefrom Signed and sealed this 22nd day of December1959,

(SEAL) Attest:

KARL H. AXLINE ROBERT C. WATSON Attesting Officer Commissioner ofPatents

